Safety. Sanctuary. Solidarity.

Our Mission

Salt Lake City’s immigrant community is under attack. Every day more families are torn apart by a broken and unjust system. Ruthless bureaucrats administer absurd rules, destroying lives and placing people in harms way in the process.

We offer an alternative to deportation to those desperate enough to seek it. We offer a reprieve from permanent exile, or worse. We offer a position of relative safety from which to seek justice.

By living inside a house of worship, some individuals and families can find temporary reprieve from deportation. They become the heart of a movement that calls us to erase the borders between us, open our doors, and live our values.

The SLC Sanctuary Network seeks to connect immigrant, political, and faith communities in mutually transformative relationships. Together in the act of Sanctuary, we grow lasting solidarity and nurture the movement of immigrant justice at home and around the world.

What is Sanctuary?

In its simplest form, Sanctuary is the practice of allowing someone to take refuge in a house of worship in order to avoid persecution or injustice. Sanctuary has been practiced in various forms for centuries, including the early days of Israel, ancient Greece and Rome, and Medieval Europe.

In recent decades, Sanctuary has become a powerful tool in the fight for immigrant rights. Congregations open their doors to people who are slated for deportation. While living inside this sacred space, undocumented people amplify their message and gain more time to seek justice with the community’s support.